My invention lies in the field of fishing equipment. More particularly I have invented a device for use by both commercial and sports fishermen to free them from the hazards and annoyance of snagging themselves, their clothing or their equipment with one or more of the hooks on a fish lure attached to the line of a fishing pole when transporting the fishing pole from one location to another.
I am aware that a number of suggestions have been proposed to solve the problem of snagging by hooks or lures on the line of a fishing pole See, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,699,623; 2,767,502; 3,086,312; 5,233,783 and 5,235,775.
However, so far as I am aware, none of the foregoing suggestions have appeared on the market perhaps because they were impractical or due to the high cost of producing devices according to the teachings of the foregoing patents.
I have invented a very simple and inexpensive device for enclosing a fish lure attached to the line of a fishing pole which device is simply and easily attached securely to or detached from a bail of the fishing pole, so that while the fishing pole is being transported by hand, boat or auto or while the rod is being stored for further use there is no danger of the hooks on the lure being snagged.
My device consists of an elongated plastic box with a hinged lid which locks itself onto the box when the lid is closed. The box is sized to accommodate a fish lure and one end of the elongated box is notched to receive the fishing line attached to the lure. At the opposite end of the elongated box, a metal hook is attached to the box with its curved or hooked end located beyond the end of the box.
When it is desired to transport the fishing pole with a fish lure at the end of the line, my plastic box is opened and the fish lure placed in the box with its line within the notch in the end of the box and the lid closed and locked. Then the hook attached to the opposite end of the box is affixed to one of the bails of the rod and the line tightened to secure the boxed lure onto the fishing pole for safe transportation or storage.